UK MP tells Labour International meeting in Alicante: Vote to Stay in Europe

• Says Britons in Spain make up largest group of British expats across Europe

UK Labour MP Mike Gapes (lford South) told members of Labour International from across Europe that if Britain were to leave the EU as a result of the referendum being proposed by Prime Minister David Cameron, British expats living in Spain and elsewhere could lose the right to work and healthcare access under the Spanish system.

Speaking in Alicante at an annual meeting of L.I. attended by members from Spain, France, Belgium and Germany, Gapes said the vote of the estimated 2.5 million Brits living across Europe could make a difference in the outcome of the referendum balloting. “Those people living in Spain, which has the largest number of people living in the EU, in Portugal, France, or Italy, or anywhere, have the most interest in the outcome but many will not be able to vote,” he explained, because after 15 years living abroad British citizens are currently disenfranchised.

The Labour MP said that “Labour International has a key role to campaign for the ‘remain’ vote and the ‘Britain Stronger in Europe Campaign’ getting people who are eligible to register to vote.”